About Phil Coleman

My first "act" was as a scientist. It may be a little hard to believe, but physics is really fun. Having some (incomplete!) understanding of how our world works is wonderful. The laws of physics manifest themselves in both simple and complex ways. It feels good to have the sense that I know a little of how that happens. For example, a favorite of mine is: why is the sky blue? It has to do with how light waves jiggle electrons in the air. I won't bore you with the details, but they make me appreciate a beautiful sunset even more.

Along the way, I used a camera to document my experiments. And sometimes, remembering my father's enthusiasm for photography and his gifts of cameras to me, I used the camera for more than pure documentation. Thus began my second "act" as a photographer.

I live near Corvallis, Oregon with a view of the beautifully forested coastal range. A good part of my days is spent taking photographs and preparing them for prints. Years ago, I used a chemical darkroom. Now a digital darkroom gives me incredible control over the final print. Sometimes my photos go straight from camera to print. Sometimes I make drastic changes before the print appears. But all the time I want to delight (or puzzle!) your eye with color, shape and texture, often of ordinary things seen in a new way.

My favorite subjects are nature and the people and places I see on my travels. With every photograph I take that makes it onto this site, my goal is an image that will resonate in your mind, that strikes a visual "chord" in you like a great song.